In the field of mobile robots, mobile robots have been increasingly used in hostile environments (such as, for example, in battle conditions or in rescue operations) for tasks such as ordinance or explosives handling or disposal, field reconnaissance, terrain mapping, and various other procedures in which a considerable risk to life or safety would exist if a person were to perform the task. As a non-limiting example, remotely controlled mobile robots equipped with video cameras have been used to scout hostile positions in environments such as caves or other non-urban terrain. However, limitations of such teleoperated mobile robots include restriction of the operative range of such robots to line-of-sight or areas substantially proximal to the tele-operator, because of real-time wireless communications issues (for example, limited wireless bandwidth availability and/or transmission power for transmitting live camera signals to a teleoperator station) presented by robots that cannot operate autonomously but instead rely entirely on continuous real-time remote control. As a result, risks to the safety of the teleoperator may be heightened because of the necessity to remain rather close to such a remote-controlled mobile robot during operation.
Furthermore, urban warfare is becoming increasingly important in many military operations. For example, combat in cities tends to generate increased risk factors to military forces, such as high risk of “friendly fire” and non-combatant casualties. However, urban combat may be increasingly common because of political and sociological reasons, and adversaries may make extensive use of guerrilla warfare and other unconventional tactics in heavily developed areas such as cities, industrial areas, and critical infrastructure such as paved roadways or neighborhood streets. At the same time, military forces may be required to take extreme care to minimize civilian casualties and other collateral damage.
Under these conditions, in order to maintain situational awareness, aerial and satellite reconnaissance can provide valuable high-level information about terrain and troop movements; however, even UAVs and other low-flying aircraft are limited in their ability to provide real-time information to ground troops about what lies around the next corner or on the next block. Soldiers currently perform most dangerous reconnaissance tasks themselves, potentially placing themselves at great risk in hostile urban environments.
Recently, however, mobile robot platforms are increasingly commonly being deployed by military forces for reconnaissance and other tasks in dangerous environments. As noted above, non-autonomous tele-operated mobile robots have the potential to reduce the risk to military warfighters in urban environments, but they are limited by both radio range, interference and the need for a full-time operator. In urban environments, for example, radio signal attenuation caused by buildings or radio interference may substantially reduce the operational range of such non-autonomous, remote-controlled robots. In addition, the need for a robot operator to devote continuous attention to operating the robot throughout the duration of an operation increases the manpower requirements associated with robotic reconnaissance.